Tough Old Birds and Young Bucks

Recently I sent comments to a brother who is much younger than this old dude. My comments were in reference to another blog by the brother and since this AM I have had some additional thoughts.

Both in Proverbs and in I John there is an expression paraphrased this way, "young men are bold and old men are wise." Living with tough, old wise men is a little unsettling for the young guy who is boldly searching for truth and trying to curtail his own exuberance into a merciful and gracious presentation.

My horses continually respond to each other as horses. The dominant mare rules the roost. She lets all members of the herd know she is the boss. The enforcer, a gelding, makes sure everyone respects her and he too, is a little intimidated by her presence when she is torqued.

Men in ministry after years often drift into letting others know they are the dominant horse in the herd. The others are supposed to step back and allow space. The threat of action among the horses is usually the pinning of the ears and a slight positioning the body to land hooves with full impact on the body of the horse which violates the space of the "boss".

In the faith, there are time when a brother needs to be told he is not the boss of the herd. The trainer needs to be brought in to eliminate the bad character of a dangerous horse. The trainer may use methods us common people who ride would never use.

The trainer or another "old geezer" who understands the dominant, bad habit thing is brought in to bring the bad habit or dangerous tendency to a halt. The skill and boldness of the old guy is not often understood by the new dude learning to ride. "Don't be so tough," "don't be so aggressive," "How can you be so 'violent' to such a delicate creature?'" are often the comments.

The young guy misses the need for strong action and often mistakes training and holding accountable as aggressive, nasty, violent, unkind, uncaring. But, when riding in the mountains, bad habits and bad tendencies can bring about a nasty and sometimes fatal wreck. Read on!

When a brother who is on top of the Hill and begins to think he is the King of the Hill, someone needs to come along and knock him off the hill, as in, you're not the boss of the herd. All Scripture is given for reproof, rebuke, correction in righteousness so the brother will be fully equipped.

When we are in the public eye as believers what we say publicly is open to public scrutiny. The level of exposure for the message should be challenged at the level of communication. Personal fault needs to be confronted as in Matthew 18 and I Timothy 5, beginning in private.

The sharpening of metal as in "iron sharpens iron" needs to be done in the arena where dullness is noticed or in the case of public debate at the level of visibility. The naysayers often use this as a point of offense to the message of the Light. The older brother needs the strongness of the blunt warning to put him on notice that the blade is becoming dull and leaves ragged edges instead of slicing/cutting smoothly.

Probably the greatest mystery among believers which the world misses is the Bond of Love which we in the faith have with the others who do not dot the "i's" or "t's" as we do in our limited circle.

Going public in writing or in speech, probably will engender a public rebuke or comment. When done by one believer to another believer, the world sees this as a nasty character quality among believers. In reality it shows diversity as a mark of tolerant disagreement even in intense disagreement. When it comes to die for Christ, we as committed believers will all die together.

In an insipid communication style we are not prepared to run up against giants who maneuver and need to be called into account. These are giants in the faith and/or giants in the world.

So, here is thought to provoke some interaction: Aggressive, strong, articulate and sometimes lengthy rebuke needs to be done in the public forum, even at the expense of being misunderstood. Strong men need strong rebuke. What is "put on the table is fair game."

What do you think? - "get over yourself saying, 'what I feel.'" Unless you are speaking directly about your feelings as in emotions. Have fun with this. ""Grins""

Walking the Halls where the Giants Live

Recently I have taken a ministry in Bremerton, WA. I have history in this ministry. It was here where I was converted. It was here I found my bride. It was here I was mentored in the faith. It was here I was liberated from the darkness and translated into the Kingdom of His dear Son.

The giants are now using a walker or cane and appear to have lost their zeal or passion for Christ. It is as if the rooms are roaring with the noise of almost 2000 believers expressing their enthusiasm for the exalted Jesus Christ.

Nothing could be further from the Truth. These saints long for the outpouring of the Spirit and long for the exaltation of Jesus Christ in the lives of others in our community. It is easy to dismiss their passion or their longing as "living in the past." After two months of wandering about through these halls I am deeply humbles.

I am humbled at God's clear moving to take us into this arena. I often lament before God of my inability to Leave a Lasting Legacy. As an empty peanut butter jar with some fissures I can only ask that Christ fulfills the promise of John 15.

The giant slayers where men and women who walked each day in the confidence God would use their humble efforts. Some of them were like the men with faces of a lion. Some of them jumped into a pit on a snowy day and killed the lion - on a "lark." Some of them stood in the bean field with a brother and slung the sword until the sun when down and their hand froze to the sword. These were the non-descript pilgrims who walked faithfully into the Darkness with the Light.

In our energy as young men we were bold and often times brash. Their patience was the model for us. Live through the impetuousness, the exuberance, the rascally spirit and then capitalize on the passion to walk with Christ.

When you walk into the assembly of believers, look beyond the presentation of the worship without dismissing its impact on your life but look at the saint in the wheel chair, walking with a cane, dim eyesight, maybe a little crusty, or unable to live with outer enthusiasm and find the heart beat of a saint who lived on the mountains and slew the enemy - as in the one who slew 300 with a spear in one battle.

Walk the halls and listen to sounds of battle and the sounds of the wounded and the sounds of the victors as Christ walked the Halls of His own victory over Death and Hell and Sin. Get over the stuff which impresses you on the outward side and look for the power of God in the lives of the Lion Killers. Become one who stands in the bean field and slings the sword from morning to evening. Be the saint who jumps into a pit and slays a lion on a snowy day.

To do this, get beyond the glitz, sit with the Giant Killers, listen to their heart beat, then with Caleb ask for the hill country and go slay the giants!

High Risk, Close it Down

Last year I wrote an article about walking the Light into the Darkness. It came out of some moments in spiritual warfare which were high adrenaline and high risk. A year later I have heard comments which support the unseen risk and my total ignorance of what I had gotten into.

Two Christmas's ago I opened the gym at our local assembly to get some exercise and to get to know some of the men who attend. The thought of reaching into a sub-culture was furthest from my mind. I opened the gym and began to shoot hoops.

There were nights when only 2 or 3 of us showed up. Then there was growth. The first year was a mix of men from various walks. Then in the Fall of that year a group of men began to show up for some serious hoops. The ensuing atmosphere, at times was filled with some tension.

Last year the cultural gathering for street ball hoopin was an educational and high risk event for me. The men who came come from a sub-culture which has rules far different than the white, middles class, peaceful culture in which I personally live. The nites were filled with excitement and behavior at times which exploded outside of standard of "marquis of queensbury's rules."

Several brothers - in their 50's - stayed the course to help me and bought into the philosophy which I was implementing. Matthew 28/18-20 indicates that while we are wandering about in our daily routine, we are to make disciples ... .

It is comfortable to put our money in an offering plate and go home to our secure places. Walking the Light into the Darkness is spiritually a spiritual adrenaline rush. Speaking truth from within an empty peanut butter jar (Stedman - 1960's) is part of every believers responsibility.

Most of the comments I heard and have heard recently are in the direction of, "shut it down, the risk is too great, " or "you need to change how you run the program."

First, yes I need to tighten up what we do and grow in wisdom in my understanding of this culture. But let me add this by way of some serious input: some had their heads cut off, some were thrown to the lions, some were sawn in half, one we know of was stoned to death, others were hounded into the mountains, one was crucified upside down. So how is this different?

So how do we justify the peaceful existence we have in most of our churches. One brother recently told me in summary form that he was asked to close down a Middle School outreach becasue the student who were coming were too noisy, the music was not hyms and the property may be in risk.

Close it down! Live in peaceful coexistence with the world and "let all of them go to Hell, they deserve it any way." The risk is just too high! Our insurance rates may go up and of course we may get hurt -not for stupidity but just because of the kind of people who will show up! They are the undesireables.

PS - have you heard about the revival among the garbage collectors in Egypt? Have you heard of the millions who were converted in South Africa?

Don't Rock the Boat

My mother, a Scandinavian Matriarch god-bless her soul, was famous in our family, at least in my memory for phrases which would capture the spirit of what she was trying to teach us as her wildly energetic children.

Usually the phrase, "don't rock the boat" meant to leave things as they were and don't interrupt with another idea which would require more time and discomfort to deal with.

The attitude of "don't rock the boat" has crept into our churches and hinders the growth of our believers to a place of wisdom and strength. The don't rock the boat mentality does not produce men "who stand in the bean field and sling the sword from dawn to dark," or men who are able to "kill 500 with the spear in one engagement."

In the realm of spiritual growth and our walk with Christ so we will present to Him a heart of wisdom - Psalm 90 -"Don't rock the boat" stops the growth of believers into saints making a lasting impact on their culture.

We need a forum where we can interact with each other in significant and deeply thoughtful ways. Older men mentoring younger men in the art of wisdom to become men who together walk into the Darkness with the Light and speak Christ as Light.

Talking, questioning, disagreeing, thinking, challenging, formulating, confessing are concepts which are part of dynamic interaction and our growth to wisdom.

We need believers who jump into a pit on a snowy day and slay a lion. Can't you just hear the; words: that's stupid, someone will get hurt; it's too cold out to be doing such a thing; maybe we should think about this; you need to learn to be more gentle and express your feminine side.

As Christ was walking on water and the disciples were rowing into the wind and Peter was about to jump into the water and start his infamous walk across the waves, can't you just hear the words, "sit down, don't rock the boat, we are in deep water here!!"

Sometimes rocking the boat is more about valor and the subsequent failure is about growing into a Rock upon which He will build the ministry. Sometime a great energetic act of valor results in some of the greatest lessons for molding the character of believers into saints who leave a lasting legacy - if we live. James 1/1-5

Who will stand in the gap? Oh! don't rock the boat.

Coalescing of Random Events

For the past year I have been working with the grandsons in processing and selling firewood. This has been an incredible experience for me as I walk into the twilight years of my life. Little things have a great impact on production.

Issues in my life which I thought were settled are coming to the forefront of my spiritual lobe. The Lord is heating the dross out of my life. At times it is painful and I am embarrassed and at times I immediately thank Him for the clarity of thinking He is bringing into my Swedish head. John 15

Each time we work together there are the delights of laughter, the choice of the will to "just get the work done and we are outta here" and of course the intructions of this old man. Each week there is a learning curve. Little actions connected to each other bring about a profit which grows as skill is developed.

Little events connected which don't seem important to the youngsters are in reality steps of action which increase production and profit. There are parts of the job which require skill and are considered dangerous. These advanced skills take time to develop and the process of mentorinig is essential to live to the end our our days.

Our conversations are sometimes a bit intense because the connection of small functions is missed by the boys. Learning to look for what needs to be done and developing skill in observation and then function is the direction to success.

The average person who walks onto the sight doesn't see the small things we do to make the processing of firewood into a successful business. The trained eye sees the unobtrusive actions and appreciates the end result.

So here goes: as I was reading in the book of Proverbs I noticed one of the verses and my thoughts were stirred more deeply than in the past. So I marked the verse with the words: the coalescing of random events is not an accident. Men and women in the faith need to spend time together in dynamic interaction refining ideas and observations to be able to see the small things God is doing.

As a result a whole generation of believers will be speaking of the great wonders in the work of God among us. They will see the small events coalescing into an event which will express the presence of Jesus Christ among us and which will be clear so we will not mistake it as "lucky."

What do you think?

Martial Arts and the Master

Over the years I have run into several advanced martial arts masters. One of the men I met and spent one day a week for over 4 years, was a 5th Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do - from Korea.

As we talked he told of attending annual marital arts extraveganzas. Men who were working their way through the belt system of Korea would gather to express/demonstrate their advanced skills. He told of men who lived in remote areas coming to the event and holding the crowds spell-bound by profound acts of martial arts.

The older men were the masters. These would quietly show a specific skill and the youngsters would be captivated by what appeared to be supernatural ability.

In the faith, we need men who understand the depths of wisdom and who can walk us neo-phytes through the steps of learning to gather understanding, then as time and experience shape our lives, we move into wisdom. It is here in this walk of great wisdom where we see the work of the Spirit in queit but profound ways. Psalm 90/10-12

The trajedy in many churches is that we have men in leadership who are moving into levels of understanding after gathering great knowledge of the ministry and spiritual walk, but are still men who are not master craftsmen in spiritual truth. And as such rather than seeing works of the spirit in True Change, the changes take place in the quiet recesses of the lives of individual believers. Transformation by the spirit from this earthly body into conformity with the glory of Jesus Christ.

And so it for most of us in the spiritual realm. Men and women who are not masters but 'wise for their age and walk - or advanced for their years' are given positions of leadership in spiritual over whole flocks of sheep when in reality they should be working for a foreman on the ranch or under the boss of the flock.

What do you see as the implications of this short article - jump in!
Have fun but be nice. Passionate and intense is okay. Don't develope a crusty heart if you are
an old dude. Don't allow a root of bitterness to spring up.

Pressure of the Presence of the King

Recently several of us were given a lesson in "presence and pressure." Our trip to Haldeman Ranch near Cleveland, Montana was an eye opener. John Haldeman is a legend among ranchers and has invested 1/2 a century of his life in working cattle and living on a vast spread of open land with some great and scenic mountains on the West side of the ranch.

During the roundup in November we helped John sort cows for the winter. His style is truly unique. He is thoughtful, doesn't move fast, and uses his body among the animals to communicate his directive to move to a certain part of the sorting pen.

His posture, his demeanor, his position near the animal he is cutting out of the herd or sorting into a pen for examination is subtle and unobtrusive. To us as city slickers we were mentored in pressure and presence.

In the large initial sorting pen, four of us formed a line with space of 15 feet between us as we made a straight line. John made sure we had the ride distance from the animals. There were times when we did not use our bodies to impose presence on the cows and John would quickly and in a single word or two place us in the right position. Our placement was ensure that only the cow and calf designated by John would pass into another pen for holding.

Some cows were less submissive and they kept us moving as we adjusted our presence and position to give authority and make them critters submit to the wishes of the boss.

Christ in reality uses His presence to direct us into the place of life where we will be the most productive. His presence is most of the time gentle and it is very deliberate. Christ uses enough pressure through the positioning of His presence to bring us into harmony with His purpose for us. James 1/1-5